Tail lights and trouble

THUNDER BAY -- A lack of rear tail lights led to the eventual arrest of three people on a variety of charges including drugs and weapon possession.

Officers with the Thunder Bay Police Service stopped a Jeep with Alberta plates just after 3 a.m. Sunday, June 8 on Arthur Street. Police stopped the vehicle because it had no rear tail lights.

Police say they discovered that the vehicle had been flagged for seizure by the Alberta RCMP as it was linked with an attempted murder investigation.

The three male occupants of the vehicle were arrested and detained. Police discovered marijuana after searching two of the men.

Meanwhile, officers searching the vehicle found a loaded handgun.

The three men were processed at the Balmoral Street police station.

During processing police learned that two of the men did not provide their real names and were on weapon-prohibition conditions.

The accused were again searched at the police station before being placed into a cell, leading to police finding more drugs on one of the three men.

As a result of the arrests and the investigation that followed, Cody Ryan Degirolamo, 18, Garner Roland Belcourt, 27, both of Dawson Creek, B.C., and Christopher Timothy Kirkpatrick, 34, of Burnaby, B.C., have been charged with.

- Unauthorized possession of prohibited restricted weapon
- Possession of prohibited or restricted firearm and ammunition
- Knowledge of unauthorized possession of firearm
- Occupant of motor vehicle knowing there was a firearm

Kirkpatrick has also been charged with:
- Possession of a firearm while prohibited
- Possession of marijuana

Belcourt is also charged with:
- Possession of a firearm while prohibited
- Fail to comply with recognizance
- Obstruct police
- Possession of marijuana
- Possession for the purpose of trafficking marijuana

All three men appeared in court and have been remanded to the district jail. Degirolamo was scheduled to make a second appearance Tuesday, while Belcourt and Kirkpatrick will be in court on June 11, 2014.

Members from the RCMP Calgary General Investigation Section attended to follow up the attempted murder investigation in relation to a shooting near Innisfail, Alta., on June 2, 2014.

This investigation led to a fourth male being located on June 9 in Thunder Bay.

This man is also a person of interest in the attempted homicide incident.

Aaron Mayers, 33, of Pitt Meadows, B.C. was arrested on outstanding warrants unrelated to this case.

Mayers made a court appearance today and has also been remanded to the district jail.

The vehicle that these men were operating has been seized by the Thunder Bay Police and is being examined by forensic identification officers in conjunction with the RCMP investigators.